Tree House - The Beginning

Christopher and Stephen are ready for their first tree house. We purchased a kit from the internet where they send you all the hardware and plans and you buy the lumber and assemble. In this case we volunteered Pop Pop and Poppy to cut and drill the lumber, but sent a Grade A Number 1 helper.

Here is the work crew with the lumber.

And the work begins with cutting all of the wood into the proper lengths. They leave the strongest of the bunch to move the pieces into piles for assembly.

When the day is done someone has to pick up the mess. Good thing Christopher was around to help out. I only hope he is as much help when it is time to assemble it in a few weeks. Thank you Pop Pop and Poppy for all of the hard work.

Fun with Grandparents

Stephen got to spend a week with Grandma and Grandpa and had all sorts of fun. Needless to say he was impossible to deal with once he got back home (just kidding). He had a wonderful time and cannot wait to go back again soon. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for keeping Stephen and taking good care of him.

Family Fun Weekend

Our summer has been just crazy, so we had set aside this weekend to be a "Family Fun Weekend". We started out by going Saturday morning back to one of our favorite places, the National Aquarium in Baltimore. Christopher had asked to go back and we were all excited to see the NEW dolphin show.They also had a new jelly fish exhibit and a "kid's exploration" area. They boys had a lot of fun playing with shells and sand, "walking the wave" (see picture above), and looking at the puppets.

Everyone took good naps after the exciting morning with the fishes. The fun continued into Sunday with a trip to the pool and a shopping expedition for Christopher and Daddy. The other highlight of the weekend is that we are finally trying to transition Stephen from the crib to his toddler bed. He had slept on a mattress at Grandma's last week so we tried taking the mattress off the bed frame... So far its been a little rough. Stephen wants to sleep in Mommy & Daddy's bed, and brother's bed. Anywhere but Stephen's bed... hopefully we will figure it out soon.

Happy 4th of July!!!

Early morning on the 4th, getting ready for the neighborhood parade. Yes for some reason Stephen has his socks on his hands instead of his feet. He wanted it that way and we have learned not to argue...

One of the things we look forward to at the parade are the free goodies. Two more frizbee's to add to the collection. Just don't look to see which candidate its supporting!

We had a good time waiting from 6pm until 9:30 for the fireworks in downtown Baltimore. This is the second year we have gone to the BMI to see them. It is right on the water and you have a great view. The boys did REALLY well considering they had to wait 3+ hours and it was past their bedtime.

Christopher sat on Daddy's lap for the fireworks and had a good time thanks to the trusty ear plugs. Stephen started out wanting to sit by himself in the stroller but he wanted to hold onto my finger, with a death grip. Once the fireworks started he moved onto my lap, and did really well until the end. I think he was a little scared by the loud booms.

Father's Day Recap

Here's Stephen on his birthday present from Uncle Kevin and Aunt Amy.

Michael and the boys went for rides on the 4-wheeler...

the NoNoMommy must be getting soft; she didn't fuss once.

And yes this is a 4-1/2 year old and a 2 year old driving a tractor...

Pop-pop is supervising... you hope!

This is the tent Daddy got.

We all want to go camping; except for maybe NoNoMommy.

She'll go as long as there is indoor plumbing, no bugs, etc...

A Week Full of Events

Congratulations Pop Pop on reaching that special stage in your life... retirement. We know you were looking forward to getting rid of one boss and accepting a new one. We wish you lots of luck and hope to see you up this way more often now.
And Happy Birthday Grandma, we wish you lots of luck with the extra help you will have around the house. We look forward to seeing you two again soon and all of the work that you have accomplished since you will both be home together all day, all the time. Love you!

Tired, Tired Litte Boy

Today was Stephen's first day of transitioning to the 2 Year old room at Childtime. He started the day with his normal friends; but at 11am he moved up to Ms. Anita's room for the rest of the day. We got a note from Ms. Anita and she said that Stephen had a great day and had a lot of fun playing in the new room with new friends and new toys. In fact he had so much fun that after dinner tonight he was having trouble keeping his head up. Here he is trying to play cars with Daddy & Big Brother Christopher; but that noggin is just too heavy. I wonder how late he will sleep in the morning... Will we make it to 5am?

And here are some other pictures from the last week that you may not have seen.

Christopher at one of Mommy's job sites; he brought his bull-dozer just in case it was needed.











Stephen playing with his new train; just not on the tracks. Mommy & Daddy's bed is better.






Two brothers playing together... How long will this last? 5 minutes?